Originally published on American Airlines BlackAtlas.com on October 22, 2012
My first confession is that I’m a wimp.
By the time this story posts, I will have been in the City of Light for three days shy of a week and I’m still not over the jet lag. The hardest part is trying to go to sleep when I’m not really tired yet and then trying to wake up before the day is done. Today, I woke up around noon, which is a sure sign that the jet lag is getting better after getting up at close to 4 pm and 5 pm the first few days, and then finally at 2 pm yesterday. And I don’t care Who says What on the Internet or on the travel blogs, there’s no way to beat jet lag. You can try to minimize it, but mostly you just have to work through it.
On shorter trips (I’m here for 6 weeks this time), adrenaline will keep you moving for the first day or so before you have to crash. In fact, I have 8 adventuristas showing up in Paris from the US in less than two weeks and I had the nerve to tell them to get as much sleep on the plane as possible because they arrive early in the morning and we’re going to hit the ground running with orientation, grocery shopping, a Métro ride and more. In other words, ignore being tired. I don’t want them to waste any time on their 10 night adventure. Not in Paris. The truth is that when their bodies tell them it’s time to lie down, they won’t have much of a say in the matter anyway. They'll just konk out.
I’m still always amazed by the folks that can fly across the world, through multiple time zones, and actually function normally for short periods of time on four- and five-day trips and then fly back home. I used to be able to. Not anymore. Oooo. I am SUCH a wimp.
Paris is one of my favorite places and I always look forward to my annual sojourn here. I was strolling down Rue Rambuteau tonight and, for some reason, got this bright idea that it would be fun to make some rather personal, yet tongue-in-cheek, confessions and then follow up with travel tips here on BlackAtlas, since I’m sure there are many of you (Francophiles or not) that will be able to relate. To that end, here are some of my confessions and travel tips. And hey, don’t judge me. I’m sensitive.
1. I want French people to think I’m French.
Don’t be alarmed. It’s My Normal to want to blend in everywhere I go and not a reflection of any identity and/or pride issues. Getting immersed in local culture is fulfilling in a way that’s hard to articulate. Today, not only did the waiter hand me the French menu and speak to me for my entire meal in French, an American woman asking for directions told me I spoke English very well. Ha. You know I think I'm French, right?
TRAVEL TIP: Try to have a local experience when you travel and try to blend in a bit (to the extent that you can). It can give you another perspective that a traditional tourist experience does not. But don’t front: Be a tourist and go to the Eiffel Tower if you’ve never been. After all, it is Paris!
2. I sound better speaking French than my husband who was born here and has a French maman.
It’s possible that I won’t ask my husband to proofread this piece based on that statement (*giggle*), but it’s true. I have an affinity for language, so I’m able to mimic sounds and accents extremely well, which is why I always got good grades in language classes. My comprehension is excellent (only at certain speeds), but my vocabulary is kinda weak until I hang out for awhile (another reason I like to stay for more than a few weeks). My husband, having lived between Europe and the US, does not have a French accent anymore but his comprehension is superbe and WAY better than mine. Guess that comes from listening to his maman all these years (RIP ma belle Marie Louise). His maman introduced us in the US but I like hanging out with his family here in France (a) because I love them, and (b) because most of them speak limited English (if any) and I get to practice my French.
TRAVEL TIP: Marry a French person. If that’s not an option, learn some basic words and phrases before you travel to a foreign country: Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, Please, Do you speak English?, Where is the restroom?, etc. But don’t perfect your accent too much, otherwise people will think you’re a local and bust out in rapid fire French. And if you already speak another language fluently, I hate you.
3. I don’t want to live in Paris 365.
But I do want an apartment here. I want to live here for three months every year. I am one of the four hundred gazillion people that wants a pied-à-terre in Paris and, until recently, I wanted to go on House Hunters International and show the world what I ended up with.
I’ve looked at houses in the French countryside (my French family prefers we live outside of Paris) but, at the end of the day, it would be a rental investment property and most folks visiting Paris likely want to be in the thick of things. So here’s the rub: The new French president has raised non-resident rental income taxes and property taxes. In fact, tax on rental income has risen from 20% to 35.5%, and capital gains tax on property sales have risen from 19% to 34.5%. Uh, talk about a dream buster. Non, merci. I’m trying to make money, not lose it.
TRAVEL TIP: Even if you fall madly in love with a place that you visit, do your homework before you buy an investment property in another country and don’t buy something or do something crazy just because you want to show off on reality tv. If you’re a roller and you don't mind giving all of your hard-earned money to President Hollande and you buy an apartment in Paris anyway, well, that’s just silly when you could be giving your money to me.
4. I work in Paris.
So. I’m a freelance travel writer, a social media nut job, a retailer, a giver, and a trip(py) travel event producer. In a nutshell, that means that as long as I have my computer, I’m working. And as long as I’m in Paris, I’m shopping for my store, my site or my Facebook friends. This trip, I’m even scouting for housing for my girls Teen Travel Abroad excursion that goes down in July 2014. Told you I work here.
TRAVEL TIP: Don’t work all of the time when you’re in Paris for goodness sake (even if it is shopping). Stop and smell the roses. Or at least stop and smell the baguettes. (Note to self.)
5. I smoke cigarettes.
Well, not really. But the French smoke like chimneys and there’s no getting away from the smell, so it’s like I smoke anyway. *Cough, cough* In fact, as I type, I’m gagging at the smell of smoke traveling all the way up to this top floor apartment from the street. I don't like it, but whaddayagonnado?
TRAVEL TIP: Don’t come to Paris if you can’t handle the smoke. Your whining isn’t going to change a doggone thing.
6. I eat less and drink more when I'm in Paris.
Now this is good. Even though I consider myself a foodie that has a love affair with a bunch of local Paris restaurants (including Caffé Créole and Barrio Latino) and some fantastic patisseries, I eat well while I'm here, but I eat less...and my waistline ain't complaining. I do know why I drink more: You can get fantastic bottles of wine and/or champagne on the cheap all over France. On the cheap, I tell ya!
TRAVEL TIP: Eat less (but eat well) and drink more when in Paris. But don’t get drunk, act a fool and get yourself arrested. I hear from reliable sources that French prisons aren’t any fun.
7. I don’t like Josephine Baker.
Nope. I don’t like her. I LOVE her. Love, love, love. In fact, I’m going to take a train ride through the Bordeaux region of France to a small town called Sarlat (where my husband’s aunt was born, coincidentally) and visit Josephine Baker’s former chateau. That’s right, I’m going to walk in the spirit of America’s most famous Black female expatriate and I. am. ecstatic. *Back flip Gabby-style*
TRAVEL TIP: On your next trip to Paris, consider putting aside two full days and take a journey to Château des Milandes. Trains and chateaus are cool.
Look. I gotta go. Paris awaits. But you'll be hearing from me again soon.
À bientôt...
Click on these four links for more of my Paris tips and chatter: 10 Ways to Really Enjoy Paris...and Make it Hot, 5 Reasons to Getta Cookin' in Paris, Vente en Gros: Wholesale Shopping in Paris, My Top 5 International Trip Tips
The photos above are random shots I've taken from either my top floor rental apartment or just walking down the street. Nothing too major. Not yet anyway. Just proves I'm actually here and not typing from Perris, California or Paris, Texas. Photo Credit: @OneBrownGirl
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